Code Names
by Azure Droplets
Summary: Summer. A season full of the sun, beaches, vacations, and the lovable antics of the Mekakushi Dan. Ch 4: Monster ...warning: angsty
1. Code Names

"Code names?"

The Mekakushi Dan stared at the idol in the pink hood. For once, she liked the attention she was getting, seeing how everyone else was ignoring her just moments ago.

"Yeah. I thought that since we're a 'secret organization' and all, we need code names to call each other by," she explained.

"Obaa-san, you're sounding like a kid," said Hibiya.

"I don't want to hear that from a brat like you. Hey, Dancho, what do you think?" She turned to the leader.

The eyes turned to the other girl and she felt like using her eyes, if not for the knowing smirk on Kano's face. "Um, well, we never actually used any code names since this was founded."

"Which means we should!" Momo urged.

"Then I vote Master gets called Red NEET!" Ene exclaimed from Shintaro's phone.

"Wait. Why do I have to be called one of these nicknames? And why Red NEET of all things?"

"You don't like it? Then what about..." She thought - or at least seemed to be in thought - about a name. A couple seconds later, she told him. "Hero NEET!"

As much as he hated to admit it, that sounded cool, if only NEET was replaced with something else. "No."

"Soda NEET?"

"Why do you keep insist on calling me a NEET?"

Kano snickered. "Ignoring them, what should we call Kido? Ghost Girl?" His comment earned him a kick in the ribs by the ghost girl.

"Well, since Kido can turn invisible, shouldn't we call her Phantom?" Seto suggested, earning him a glare. "Just joking." He turned to Mary who sat next to him. "Hey, Mary, what do you want your code name to be?"

"Um..."

"Oh, you don't have to tell me now."

"I think Seto should be called Forest," she said.

Seto laughed. "Alright. Then Mary will be Fairy. How about that?" The girl instantly smiled, and he smiled with her.

"As for this kid," Momo started as she pointed at Hibiya, "he should just be Cheeky Brat."

"Then Obaa-san is Aun Obaa-san," he retorted.

Sparks flew between the two.

"Cheeks."

"Cow."

"Shota."

"Loli."

"How am I a loli? Stalker."

Hibiya visibly flinched. "Fake Idol."

Momo was running out of code names for him. Hibiya, noticing this, smirked in victory.

Meanwhile, Konoha looked around at the commotion. Shintaro was still talking to Ene. Kano seemed to keep annoying Kido, seeing how he was being punch and kicked all the time. Mary and Seto sat next to each other, content. Momo was desperately trying to think up of a code name while Hibiya walked over to him.

"Code names sound childish," the young boy commented.

Konoha disagreed. "They seem fun."

Hibiya gave him a look and sighed. "I guess."

"Can I have one too? A nickname?" he asked.

"Hmm? Let's see. How about-"

"Cloud!" Ene suddenly exclaimed. "Konoha should be Cloud, because he's always drifting off, and his hair's white!"

"Ene, if you can think of a nickname for him, why can't you come up with a better one for me?" Shintaro practically whined.

"Cloud, huh? It fits you," said Hibiya.

Konoha smiled.

Almost an hour later, most of the members had a code name. Seto wrote them down on a piece of paper.

#1 Kido: Dancho

Kano sighed. Kido didn't like any of the code names he came up with, so they just stuck her with that, to Momo's disappointment.

#2 Seto: Forest

It matched with his green hoodie, and Mary was the one who gave him the name. Seto wasn't complaining about it.

#3 Kano: Evil Eye

Shintaro thought it would be more appropriate to name Kido that, considering how she was giving Kano the evil eye.

#4 Mary: Fairy

Mary wasn't complaining about it either, despite still thinking she was a monster. Well, if Seto acknowledged her as a fairy, then it should be fine.

#5 Momo: Siren

Not the police siren, but the mythological Siren. Momo wasn't sure how she felt about that.

#6 Ene: Lightning Dancer

Shintaro felt like capturing her face. For once, she was actually speechless.

#7 Shintaro: Kick the Soda

Now it was Shintaro's turn to be speechless. Who came up with that name? It was worse than being called a NEET.

#8 Hibiya: Boy Scout

Momo held her chest high. She finally found a name for him. Boy Scout glared at her. If only he could have named her something else.

#9 Konoha: Cloud

Considering what a cloud was like, everyone thought it fit the absentminded albino.

Ene recovered from her speechlessness. "Hey, who named me Lightning Dancer?"

LightningDancerEne, the name from her old life. She never expected it to reappear again, not after she disappeared from the face of the gaming world two years ago.

"I did," said Konoha. "It suddenly popped into my mind."

"Speaking of which, I remembered a user named LightningDancerEne," said Seto. "It's an amazing coincidence that you have the same name and it fits you."

Yeah, it was amazing. To think Konoha remembered it. She hid her emotions with a wide smile.

"Haha! Prepare to face the wrath of the Lightning Dancer! Bang!"

Unfortunately for Shintaro's (and Kido's) weak heart(s), she included the sound of a real gunshot.

"Ene!" Shintaro yelled.

She laughed. She cast a fleeting glance at Konoha.

_Hey, Haruka, please remember me. I...love you, Haruka._

* * *

Thank you for reading my first fanfic. I hope it wasn't too bad. I had first planned to write and angsty HaruTaka fic but decided against it. This may or may not become a series of drabbles. I'm undecided about this. For now, it will be completed.

Good luck me in trying to write more.


	2. Rain, Ene, and a Story

Shintaro looked away from his computer and at the window. Dark clouds loomed over the city.

"Master, can we go out?" Ene asked, looking bored.

"Don't be ridiculous. It could rain any second," he replied.

"Are you sure? Little Sister is with the others and your parents are out, meaning you're home alone."

"Ene, I got over the fear of being alone a long time ago." He went back to his computer, working on remaking the song Ene deleted.

"Is Master afraid of thunder?"

"I'm not a kid."

Ene grinned creepily. "Really? Storms can be quite scary. You're alone in your room when suddenly, lightning strikes and you see a figure in the corner of you eyes. And when you turn around there's nothing there."

Shintaro had a bad feeling. "Ene."

"So you go back to doing what you were doing before. Raindrops land on your cheek. You see your window is open. You never opened it, so who could have done it?"

He grew pale. "Ene," he repeated, more frantic.

"You get up to close it. You notice your floor is completely wet, not from the rain, but from something else. You turn around, looking around the room. No one there. Lightning strikes again, and for a split second, you see a shadow."

"O-oi, Ene, that's enough."

"You slowly turn around, and you see it. A brown-haired, green-eyed boy covered in blood, holding a knife above you. 'I found you,' he says."

Right on cue, there was a flash of lightning. Shintaro swore he saw a shadow near the door. He almost screamed.

"Should I continue?" Ene asked innocently.

"N-no. I get it already. I'll go."

Thunder followed his words.

And he found a pair of hands on his shoulder.

"Kyaaa!" He let out a girly scream.

Ene laughed from the computer screen. "Ahaha! Master's face is funny right now!"

"Onii-chan, what's wrong?" a familiar voice asked. She was trying to hide her laughter.

"Momo?! What are you doing here?" he asked, a bead of sweat rolling down his frightened face.

"What? Is it wrong for me to be here?" she asked.

"Master thought you were with the others," Ene said.

"I was but Kano was complaining that not everyone was there, so there was noting to do. That's why I came back to bring you there," she replied.

"Why do I have to go. It might rain!" Shintaro complained.

"I could always continue my story if you want," Ene threatened.

Shintaro's face lost its color. "I'm going, I'm going so please leave me alone."

Minutes later, the two plus Ene, who was in Shintaro's phone as usual, walked in the gloomy weather to the hideout. Shintaro would always freeze when he saw lightning, half-expecting to see a shadow pop out. He also saw a boy with brown hair and green eyes walking with a black-haired red-eyed boy, and he didn't move for a full two minutes.

"Master is a scaredy-cat on stormy days," Ene remarked.

"Shut up. It's all your fault," the boy snapped. Inwardly, he was crying.

_I never want to stay alone with this program ever again._

* * *

So, here's to this being continued as a collection of drabbles or short stories. This one is short. The one after this is more than twice as long and I'm not even done writing it. Well, I had fun writing this, although I think I bully Shintaro too much. First Kick the Soda and now this. Oh well. I'll make up for it by writing something with him and Ayano in it. Eventually.

Hopefully, I can finish the next drabble/short story soon.

Spoiler: Kano decides to bring everyone to an old house.


	3. Nekomimi Dan

It was morning. Birds were chirping, and the sun shone its rays on the city. There was a loud thud as Kano rolled off the couch. Due to the entire Mekakushi Dan sleeping over, he and Shintaro slept on the couches last night.

Rubbing his head, he looked around. Shintaro slept on his side with his back to Kano. Ene was placed on the table. The clock on the wall read 6:39. Ah, it was early, he thought to himself as he climbed back on the couch.

His foot step on something soft, and he winced in pain. The pain didn't come from his foot, but something else. However, he quickly stepped off whatever was on the floor. With a grin that hid his fearfulness, he slowly looked down. His foot was on a slender tail that was the same color as his hair.

Was this a prank? he wondered. Then again, who else but he would play such a prank? He raised an arm to scratch his head, only to feel yet another foreign object.

He quickly rushed to the bathroom and stared at his reflection in the mirror. He was still human–Thank God!– but a pair of cat ears adorned his head.

Well, they matched his eyes–No, this was not the time to think that. Why did he suddenly have cat ears and a tail? What did he do to deserve this?

"At this rate, we might have to call ourselves the Nekomimi Dan," he joked quietly.

Walking out of the bathroom, his eyes fell on Shintaro's sleeping form. The older boy's face was visible from where he stood. His face is just a bit cute when he sleeps.

Kano hurriedly shook his head. No, no. He was devoted to Kido, no matter how much the girl hated him. He wasn't the kind of person to be mesmerized by a boy's sleeping face of all things. If anything, he wanted to sneak into Kido's room and peak at her sleeping face. Unfortunately, the lock on the door was an obstacle he couldn't overcome easily.

He closed his eyes and sighed. If only Kido wasn't such a tsundere. When he opened them back up, he caught sight of Shintaro's hair twitching. Huh? Now that he looked closely, wasn't there two triangle-like strands of hair on his head.

Kano tiptoed over to the couch. No doubt about it. Those were cat ears! He snickered. So he wasn't the only one. But wait. Did that mean the others also had them?

**~()~**

A while later, Konoha rolled off Kano's bed. Kano seemed to have infected the albino with the rolling out of bed disease. Groggily, the boy opened his eyes. He was faintly aware of a dull pain from beneath his headphones. Without much of a thought, he pulled them off his head, and two white ears unfolded.

The headphones were placed on the nightstand. Konoha climbed back onto the bed, a tail swishing behind him. He didn't pay it much though as he went back to sleep.

**~()~**

The time was 8:30 a.m. A rather loud, blaring alarm woke everyone besides Kano, who was amusing himself by figuring out how to move his tail.

Shintaro's hand grabbed the phone while the owner, still in half a daze, yelled, "Ene!" Amazingly, his voice could be heard over the alarm.

The alarm stopped. "Good morning, Master!" greeted the blue girl in the phone. "Eh?"

"Huh?"

The two looked at each other with wide eyes. Shintaro's in shock, and Ene from holding her laughter.

Kano, unnoticed by Shintaro, peeked over his shoulder. He almost snickered.

"Wha–You–Cat?!" The elder Kisaragi lost the ability to form coherent sentences as he stared at the blue ears and tails that grew overnight on the program.

Hearing this, Ene couldn't contain her laughter anymore. "Ahaha, haha! Master, is that some kind of new fetish? Ahaha!" Her hands clutched her sides and her incomplete legs kicked up and down.

"Eh?" He patted his head and felt something strange yet also familiar to something else he touched long ago. "No. Me too?!"

Similar cries of shock echoed throughout the small hideout. Doors were slammed open, and Kano caught a glimpse of a much appreciated sight of Kido in her pajamas, though for some reason, he wasn't as delighted as he thought he'd be, and instead found his eyes wandering to Shintaro every now and then. Something was definitely wrong with him.

"Kano, what did you do?!" she demanded.

"I didn't do anything," he defended, raising his hands in the air to appeal to her as innocent. Unfortunately for him, he was known for being a liar, so Kido was not convinced. Plus, there were a bit of incidents he was guilty of.

"Did you put something in the food?"

"That was only once," he said, recalling the time when Shintaro was turned into a child because of some sugar cubes he offered. Truth really was stranger than fiction. That aside, Shintaro was so cute as a child!

"I don't think Kano had anything to do with this," said Seto, fully dressed in his strange green jumpsuit. "Besides, it's not like this will last forever. It'll go away eventually."

"Fine," she said. It wasn't like she was getting anywhere by placing the blame on him. "There'll be nothing but fish until we go back to normal."

"No negima?" Konoha asked, mixing puppy eyes with drooping tail and ears. What a dangerous combination.

Kido tried to back away, but Konoha wouldn't let her.

"I get it! You want negima, right? We'll eat that tomorrow."

His tail and ears instantly perked up, and he smiled. "Kido, daisuki!" he exclaimed as he embraced her.

"Eh? Eh?!"

Kano found it amusing how the addition of a tail could help him figure out what people were feeling. Kido's tail was stiff and straight as a tree while her face was beet red.

Kido's embarrassed face was cute, but Shintaro's was even cuter. Wait, what was he thinking!?

For an hour, the rest of the Mekakushi Dan – No, it was Nekomimi Dan now – was in an uproar at the sudden change. However, since stranger things could happen, they got over it and the day dragged on.

Hours later, Kano was stuck house watching with Shintaro while the rest of the group wanted to go shopping. Shintaro refused to go out. Since Ene was claimed by Momo for the rest of the day, Mary didn't want him to be alone. Therefore, she encouraged Kano to stay with him. And so, that was how the two boys were stuck together.

"How do you not have a computer?" Shintaro complained as he sat at the table with his head down.

"We have slow internet here," Kano replied, his mind elsewhere. He stared as Shintaro's tail swished back and forth in boredom. Before he knew it, dead fish eyes met his cat eyes.

"You've been staring at me creepily for a while now. What do you want?"

"Nothing." He turned away. To Shintaro, he wore his usual aloof expression. However, that was just a mask created by his power to hide his reddening face.

Why? Why was his heart beating so fast. Not even Kido managed to make his heart race like this. Did that mean he only like Kido as a friend?

He quickly buried his nose in the magazine he was flipping through. He shook the thoughts from his mind.

"What are you reading?" Shintaro's breath tickled his cat ears, and Kano could feel the tension affect his tail. _Stop beating, stop beating. Don't get any closer!_ He frantically screamed such words in his minds. Alas, His heart was not a sentient object, and Shintaro was not telepathic. Such words were wasted unless they left his mouth.

"What's wrong? You're strangely quiet."

_Too close!_ Their tails were touching, and Shintaro's mouth was dangerously near his ear.

"Oi." It sounded oddly seductive.

Kano bit back a yelp as Shintaro nibbled on his ears.

"Kano, you're hurting me." He was moving closer and closer. Somehow, Shintaro managed to entwine their tails.

"Shin...taro?" he asked hesitantly.

"You're so cute when you're shy."

Was this really the Shintaro he knew? No, this had to be a dream, right?

"I love you, Kano."

Definitely a dream!

Shintaro placed his chin on Kano's shoulder. "I love you."

Kano shuddered. Now he was near his actual ear.

"Y-you can't. We're both guys."

"So? That doesn't mean anything."

Kano felt hot. Was the blood rushing to his face that quickly. He felt as if his heart was going to burst soon.

"I..." He turned around to meet the elder's eyes. Their lips met. Kano relished the soft and moist feeling.

Shintaro broke the kiss. "I love you, Kano."

"I love you, too, Shintaro." Kano's blood finally calmed down.

_Ah, so I really do think of Kido as just a friend. It's Shintaro who I love._

They kissed again, with Kano being the one who initiated it this time.

**~()~**

Seto smiled as he wiped away the drool on Mary's mouth. "She seems to be having a good dream."

Kido entered the room. "Breakfast is ready," she said.

"I'll be there soon," he replied quietly.

Mary slightly stirred, and Seto ran his hand through her hair.

"ShinKano," she mumbled in her sleep.

Although she was having a good dream, Seto felt like he didn't want to know what it was about. Nevertheless, he still smiled.

He reached into his pocket to pulled out a small box wrapped in red paper and topped with a white ribbon.

"Happy birthday, Mary," he whispered.

* * *

**I'm sorry if the yoai scenes are horrible, corny, cheesy, cliche, etc.. Anyways, Happy Birthday Mary! **

**And I'm sorry to say that the haunted house chapter isn't going to be finished soon, 50% due to laziness, 33% due to lack of motivation, and 1% due to lack of experience. In the meantime, I'll be writing up some other stories. And due to lack of inspiration, you can always suggest an idea. Or ideas for the haunted house.**

**On another note, thank you for all the reviews, favorites, and follows! I'm not as great as Jin, but I'll do my best with writing!**


	4. Monster

As usual, most of the Mekakushi Dan was doing their own thing. Kano was lying on the couch with an open magazine covering his face. Kido was cooking with Konoha looking over his shoulder, the boy hoping for some negima to eat. Hibiya and Momo were arguing as they played a video game. Shintaro was trying to open an app on his phone, but Ene kept getting in his way. Seto and Mary were refilling the flower vases with water until Mary's hand slipped.

The resulting crash caught everyone's attention, and shards of glass littered the floor.

"Mary-chan, are you okay?" Momo asked worriedly.

"Y-yes." The glass didn't touch her. Seto had made sure of that.

"O-oi, are you sure you're fine? That's a lot of..." Shintaro trailed off. The sight, the smell, and the word itself made him nauseous. However, he wasn't talking to Mary.

"It's fine, it's fine. You're overreacting," said Seto, waving around his hand as if it was no big deal. That very hand was full of cuts and some glass.

Mary stared wide-eyed at him. "I'm sorry!" she quickly cried, bowing her head multiple times.

"Its fine, I said. It doesn't hurt one bit." Pretending to be strong got him nowhere. "It isn't Mary's fault at all. Don't cry." He ruffled her hair with his uninjured hand.

"Here. Give me your hand," Kido requested, a first-aid kit next to her. Seto readily complied, letting her clean and dress the cuts as well as take out the glass. He flinched when the first piece was removed. Shintaro hastily turned the other way, not wanting to see blood.

Minutes later, Seto's right hand was wrapped in bandages and the glass was cleaned up. However, Mary holed herself up in her room, not wanting to see anyone.

"She probably blames herself for hurting Seto," Kido explained to a crestfallen Momo after the blonde tried to coax Mary out.

"But, he said it too. That it wasn't her fault," she argued.

"Mary cares too much for her own good," Kano said simply with a slight smirk.

"What are you smirking for?" Kido jabbed him in the abdomen.

"Nothing much," he replied.

**~()~**

Seto knocked on the bedroom door. "Mary? It's me."

"What?" asked Mary from inside. Her voice was almost emotionless, save for a hint of regret.

"Can you open the door? Even if its just a bit?" He looked down at the mass he carried, his eyes shining red for a split second.

"No. I..."

"It wasn't your fault. Besides, it will heal eventually."

"But..."

Since he couldn't see her face, Seto couldn't read her mind. However, he could more or less guess what she was thinking.

"You aren't a monster, Mary."

"But, I hurt Seto. I hurt Seto," she repeated, sniffling.

"You didn't hurt me. Hmm. Think of it as a knight protecting a damsel-in-distress. Sure, they get hurt, but it's worth it if the damsel is healthy and smiling. So smile. I love your smile the most." He was being sincere.

The door opened enough to see a pink eye, slightly swollen from crying, peering at him. He smiled and let go of what he was carrying. Mary was surprised to feel something soft rubbing against her leg. She looked down to see a small, brown puppy. It's tail wagged back and forth, and clear blue eyes stared at her softly.

When it barked, she suddenly thought of a strange thought. Mary inhaled sharply and jumped back. "P-please leave. I will—"

"You aren't going to hurt it," Seto assured as he crouched down and offered the dog his left hand. The dog licked his fingertips.

Mary inched ever so closer. "Really? I won't hurt it, right? It won't avoid me, right? Will it really be okay?"

With a light-hearted chuckle, Seto answered, "Don't worry. This guy likes anyone who likes him. Come and pet him."

One step. Two steps. Three steps. Four steps and she crouched down. "Um..."

With a bark, the puppy turned away from Seto and walked over to her. Hesitantly, she stretch out a hand, half-expecting nothing to happen. However, her expectations were turned over as she felt a tongue touch her fingers. It moved up and down, left and right. Speechless, she watched as the puppy pawed her legs, as if wanting her to sit. The moment she did, the puppy climbed onto her lap.

"Eh?!" For someone like her, who had never interacted with animals like this for at least a hundred years, tears once again pricked the corners of her eyes.

"Are those tears of joy?" Seto asked, even though he already knew the answer.

Mary petted the puppy's head before answering. So soft. The tears fell to her dress as a smile started to form. "Yes."

Seto smiled along with her. "That's good."

Seeing this, the others, who were crowding around behind a wall, smiled at each other.

**~()~**

_Knights get hurt when protecting a damsel-in-distress, but it's worth it if the damsel is healthy and smiling. That was what you taught me, right? I'm not smiling at all. I'm not healthy at all. How is this protecting me?! No! No! Don't kill him, please! Don't kill my knight!_

**~()~**

The next day, Seto and Mary walked together to return the puppy.

"Um, was it really okay for you to borrow him?" Mary asked uncertainly. She held the puppy in her arms, occasionally petting it.

"Yeah. I used to work part-time there, so I know the store owner well. When I asked, he let me take any of the animals," he explained.

"Seto really is amazing."

He laughed. "I'm not that great. We're here." He stopped in front of a pet store. The small bell attached to the door rang to announce their arrival.

"Oh, Seto! Back already?" asked the man sitting at the cash register. "You could've kept the pup for a while longer, you know."

"Yeah, I know. But once Mary found out that it wasn't a stray, she wanted to give it back," he replied.

Mary flushed when she heard her name mentioned.

"Okay." The man stepped away from the cash register and walked up to Mary. "So you're Mary. I'm the owner of this place, Makoto. Nice to meet you."

"Ah, nice to meet you, too. Here's your puppy back."

"Thank you. It seems he was treated well." He was the one who carried the puppy now. "Well then, come back anytime."

"Okay," said Seto. He turned to Mary. "Let's go back."

The two left the store to go back home. Along the way, they talked about trivial things. Occasionally they laughed, and occasionally, they stopped to sight-see.

Mary spotted a man with several piercings and a tattoo on his arm. He looked scary. She avoided looking at him as they walked past each other. However, their shoulders bumped.

The man suddenly made a pained cry. Mary and Seto stopped and turned around. He was gripping his shoulder, the very one that bumped into Mary's. When they made eye contact he glared.

"You broke my shoulder! What are you going to do about it, huh?" he outraged.

"Eh?" Her mind swirled. She hurt him? Was she so scared that she subconsciously did something to hurt him? Then, she really was a monster. A monster that everyone avoided. Tears streamed down her face, and she wailed.

"Mary?" Seto looked at her. Their eyes met, and he understood everything.

"Oi, if anyone should be crying, it should be me! Hurry and fork over the money for the medical bill!" the man demanded.

He made Mary cry. He made Mary cry. Those words echoed in his head.

"Hey, don't you think you should stop faking it? Your shoulder couldn't have broken just because of that!" he pointed out.

"Aah?" The man glared at him. "You don't believe me? It really is broken, you idiot! And did you think that those red contacts make you look cooler? How lame!" he taunted.

Red contacts? Mary quickly looked at Seto's eyes. They were indeed red.

"Shut up, Ishimoto Genji." Seto's voice had an edge in it.

The man, Genji, froze. "You, how do you know my name?"

"Eighteen years old. Dropped out of high school. Unemployed. Hobby: extorting money. Drinks even though underage. Has been sent to juvie multiple times." He watched as the man grew paler and paler with every fact he listed. "I can see why your family gave up on you. I can't believe you've had a girlfriend, though. Four of them to boot." He could go on and on like this.

"Se...to?" It was the first time Mary ever saw Seto like that. He was scary. Was that really him?

"And now you've run out of money. Hmm? You were planning on robbing a bank next week. Good luck with that, you trash." After uncharacteristically saying such harsh words, it seemed he was done talking.

Silence reigned for a moment.

"Haha. Ahahahaha." The man let out a deranged laughter. "I get it now. You were hired by some cop or detective that wanted to get rid of me. That's why you know so much." He reached into a pocket and pulled out a certain object. A knife.

Mary gasped, fearful of Seto's well-being. However, Seto simply stared at it as if it were nothing.

"You won't be able to hit me." Because Seto could read what he was thinking, he knew what the man would do. He stepped forward. "Are you planning on killing me with that? Do you have the guts to?" He could tell. The man was trembling.

"Shut up!" The man charged at him, aiming for his arm.

Seto didn't run. He held out his right hand and grabbed the knife. Fresh blood leaked onto the bandage. He was faintly aware that Mary squeaked. He took the knife from Genji's hands and threw it to the side. Red dripped down on the sidewalk.

"Leave. Leave and make sure I never see you again." It was a threat.

The man backed away slowly before turning around and running away. For a moment, the only thing in Seto's mind was the fear Genji felt towards him. His eyes returned to their normal color, and for once, he had to fake a smile as he turned to Mary.

"Are you alright?"

"You're Seto...right?"

Mary had also been afraid. The thought stabbed through his heart. He remembered what happened the first time he got mad like this. He used his power to peek into the person's life, choosing to say only bad things. The ones who saw him called him a monster. He, too, called himself that before he was adopted by the Tateyama family.

Enough about that. He shook his head to get rid of the bad memories.

"Yeah. I'm Seto."

"Um..." She was still fearful. Seto couldn't quite hide the sadness in his eyes. "Tha..." Hmm? "Thank you, Seto. For helping me." She closed her eyes and smiled.

Ah, he was an idiot. Mary lived with the fear that she would turn people into stone for one hundred years. The fear of him was nothing compared to that. He could tell she was still afraid from the trembling of her hands. Even so, she was facing her fear like he encouraged her to do when they first met.

(Even if you close your eyes, I can still tell what you're thinking. Mary, you really are strong.)

"You're welcome," he replied. He smiled more naturally this time.

"Um, we need to get your hand treated," Mary reminded.

"Oh." He'd forgotten about it. Now that he remembered, it really hurt. And it was bleeding a lot.

Mary hurriedly ripped off a strip of cloth from her apron and wrapped it around his hand. "Your bandages are increasing," she noted.

"It'll heal." He looked at his hand. "Well, if I get a scar, I can say it was from protecting my princess."

"P-princess?!" she cried incredulously.

"You aren't a monster, Mary. You should know that by now." He patted her head with his left hand.

"I got it," she said softly.

"Do you want me to carry you?'

"N-no. I can still walk," she protested.

"Okay. But tell me when you're tired, okay?"

"Yes!"

**~()~**

_I...can't breathe. I...Am I dying? Again? It's scary. I'm afraid of dying. ...I'm scared, but I'll face it, that fear. That's why, Mary, don't be afraid of being alone. And to you who is another side of Konoha, I know your reasons for doing this. So let me say this: You are not a monster that will destroy huma...ni. . . t...y...—_

**~()~**

_I'm tired. I'm tired of repeating this over and over. No matter what you do, you cannot stop me from killing them, so why do you keep resetting this? You will only see your friends die again and again._

_…_

_Hey, can we stop now?_

_...I guess not._

**~()~**

As usual, most of the Mekakushi Dan was doing their own thing. Kano was lying on the couch with an open magazine covering his face. Kido was cooking with Konoha looking over her shoulder, the boy hoping for some negima to eat. Hibiya and Momo were arguing as they played a video game. Shintaro was trying to open an app on his phone, but Ene kept getting in his way. Seto and Mary were refilling the flower vases with water until Mary's hand slipped.

"That was close. Are you alright?" Seto asked, the vase that she dropped in his hands.

"Yes. Thank you," she replied.

"You're welcome." He set the vase back on the table. "Hey, Mary, do you want to go to a pet store with me?"

"To buy food for Hanao?" she asked.

"Well, there's that too, but I figured you'd want to play around with the animals," he answered.

"Is that really okay?"

"Yeah. It'll be fine!" assured the boy.

She smiled. "Then I'll go!"

As the two walked to the door, Konoha stared at them with gold irises.

(You will never have a happy ending. Even so, you still waste your time like this. How foolish.)

"Konoha, are you spacing out again?" Kido asked.

Konoha blinked, his eyes back to being red. "Probably. Is lunch ready yet?"

"Not for another hour. Wait. Why are you chewing my hair!?"

"It smells good~" Konoha replied blissfully.

For how long would these days continue? No one could tell, but it would be nice if they lasted forever.

* * *

Let's see... **EchoInWonderland **suggested Seto being cute and cute animals being cute.

**lyfaeon **suggested a fanfic where Seto uses his eye powers on someone because he got angered/offended/needed to do it or something like that.

So, I put the two together since they where both Seto-centric...and it kinda became angsty. I'm sorry! It's because August 15 was coming while I was still procrastinating, so I made this my fic for August 15, and...this is what happened. August 15 is not a happy day.

Anyway, we better not make Seto mad ever again. I shall call it Dark!Seto and leave it at that. Okay! *nods to self* You are free to try and hunt me down because of this. I deserve it.

And so, before the bloodthirsty fans get here, let me elaborate on my theory on Kuroha. To me, Kuroha is like Azami and Kenjirou: someone who we thought was an antagonist, but really was just a victim. He kills the Mekakushi Dan while Mary kind of resets the timeline. It's like Kagerou Daze. I don't want to think that there's a part of Konoha—yes, he's a part of Konoha no matter how you look at it, and if Jin proves me wrong, I will not be happy—that is sadistic enough to kill them over and over again—I'm ignoring the lyrics for Outer Science here—so I believe that he was programmed to kill them. Thus he is tired, and wants to stop, either by someone stopping him or Mary stopping to reset everything. Well, this theory is definitely nonsensical since I love to sugarcoat things, but I praise you for actually reading it all. End of Theory Time.

Well, for those who are unsatisfied with how I wrote their suggestions, you're free to make me rewrite it. But I'm not taking yaoi. The ShinKano was a one-time thing.

And I'll see you some other time.


End file.
